Most articles of footwear include laces, buckles, or zippers to close off the foot-receiving opening of the shoe and/or to secure the shoe to the wearer's foot. While adequate for many uses, these systems are relatively static. These systems do little or nothing to help a shoe conform to a wearer's foot and to changes in the size, shape, and/or volume of various portions of the wearer's foot as the wearer moves while wearing the shoe. Better conformance of a shoe to a wearer's foot through more or throughout all phases of use (e.g., throughout the step cycle, while jumping, while cutting, while in plantar flexion, while in dorsiflexion, etc.) can provide a more stable and comfortable feel for the wearer. The deficiencies of the above-noted static systems are further exacerbated for users involved in athletic activities because such activities tend to place great stress on the foot and can cause portions of the foot to undergo significant changes in size, shape, volume, and/or motion.
Accordingly, there is room in the art for improvements in securing systems for engaging footwear or other foot-receiving devices with a wearer's foot, and particularly in athletic footwear.